The Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors (ACBFC) was the first official organization of

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

enthusiasts and historians. Active during the 1960s, the ACBFC was established by

Jerry Bails Jerry Gwin Bails (June 26, 1933 – November 23, 2006) was an American popular culturist. Known as the "Father of Comic Book Fandom," he was one of the first to approach the comic book field as a subject worthy of academic study, and was a primar ...

, the "father of comics fandom". A vital player in the development of comics fandom, the ACBFC brought fans of the medium together, administered the first industry awards (the Alley Awards), and assisted in the establishment of the first comic book fan conventions.

History

Origins and the Alley Awards

The idea of the Academy was inspired by Bails' friend and fellow enthusiast Roy Thomas, who felt a comics-industry version of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

would be an effective way "to emphasize the seriousness of comics fans about their hobby". Schelly, Bill. "Jerry Bails' Ten Building Blocks of Fandom", '' Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #25 (June 2003), pp. 5-8. Bails further liked "the idea of a fandom organization that would not only perpetuate the concept of comics as an art form, but would also act as a sort of umbrella for all his ideas and projects, and those of others". In short order — 1961 or 1962 — the Academy of Comic-Book Arts and Sciences was established. Bails served as the Academy's first executive secretary, which had an initial roster of about twenty members. The Academy's first order of business was to administer the Alley Awards, which traced their origin to "a letter to Jerry dated October 25, 1961", by Thomas, in which he suggested to Bails that his fanzine ''

Alter-Ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different ...

'' create its own awards to reward fandom's "favorite comic books in a number of categories" in a manner similar to the

Oscars The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. Initially suggested as "The Alter-Ego Award", the resulting idea was soon named "The

Alley Award The Alley Award was an American annual series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, the award shared close ties with th ...

", "named after V. T. Hamlin's

Alley Oop ''Alley Oop'' is a syndicated comic strip created December 5, 1932, by American cartoonist V. T. Hamlin, who wrote and drew the strip through four decades for Newspaper Enterprise Association. Hamlin introduced a cast of colorful characters an ...

" by Thomas "because surely a caveman had to be the earliest superhero chronologically". The first Alley Awards, given for the calendar year 1961, were reported in ''Alter Ego'' #4 (Oct. 1962).

Ratification

In 1963 Bails renamed the organization (which now had a membership of 90) the Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors upon ratification of its charter,Lopes, Paul. ''Demanding Respect: The Evolution of the American Comic Book'' (Temple University Press, 2009), p. 94. with these goals: * conduct and administer the Alley Awards * publish the comics news fanzine '' The Comic Reader'' * endorse a "code of fair practice in the selling and trading of comic books" * publish "a directory of comic fans" in the hopes of building local chapters * endorse other fan organizations * assist in establishing a yearly

comics convention A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at co ...

, and encourage industry professionals to participate ''Forum'' was name of the ACBFC journal, the first issue of which was published in October 1964 out of

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

Alley Talley

On March 21–22, 1964, the first annual "Alley Tally" by ACBFC members was organized by Bails at his house in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, with the purpose of counting "the Alley Award ballots for 1963". This became notable in retrospect as the first major gathering of comics fans, predating the earliest comic book conventions, which were held later in the year. Attendees included Ronn Foss, Don Glut, Don and Maggie Thompson, Mike Vosburg, and

Grass Green Richard Edward "Grass" Green (May 7, 1939Social Security Death Index. – August 5, 2002) was an African American cartoonist notable for being the first black participant in both the 1960s fan art movement and the 1970s underground comics movement. ...

. Comics historian

Bill Schelly William Carl Schelly (November 2, 1951 – September 12, 2019) was an Eisner Award-winning author who chronicled the history of comic books and comic book fandom, and wrote biographies of comic book creators, including Otto Binder, L.B. Cole, Jo ...

notes that the Alley Tally and "even larger fan meetings in Chicago . . . helped build momentum" for these earliest conventions. Bails himself was "on the organizing committee" for the

Detroit Triple Fan Fair The Detroit Triple Fan Fair (DTFF) was a multigenre convention generally held annually in Detroit from 1965 to 1977. It is credited for being one of the first comic book conventions in the United States. The Triple Fan Fair also gave balanced cov ...

, held in 1965. At the end of 1964,Graves, Philip. "Early comics fandom (Part 2) - After the Alley Awards", ''Examiner.com'' (Sept. 11, 2009). Bails passed on his role as executive secretary to fellow fan

Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born April 2, 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author in the United Kingdom. He has dual United States and British nationality, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Grea ...

(who termed himself "ExecSec2")."With a Little Help From His Friends...", ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #25 (June 2003), pp. 14-19.

Academy Con

By 1965, the title of ACBFC Executive Secretary had passed to Dave Kaler and the Academy had a membership of 2,000. Under Kaler's leadership, the Academy produced three successful "Academy Con" comic book conventions in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

during the summers of 1965–1967,Schelly, Bill. "Introduction", ''Founders'' (McFarland, 2010), p. 8.Schelly, Bill. "The Kaler Con: Two Views: Bigger And Better Than The Benson Con Just Three Weeks Before?? (Part VIII of '1966: The Year Of (Nearly) Three New York Comics Conventions')", ''Alter-Ego'' #64 (Jan. 2007). attracting industry professionals such as

Otto Binder Otto Oscar Binder (; August 26, 1911 – October 13, 1974) was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for '' Captain Ma ...

Bill Finger Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatur ...

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

Mort Weisinger Mortimer Weisinger (; April 25, 1915 – May 7, 1978) was an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics' ''Superman'' during the mid-1950s to 1960s, in the Silver Age of comic books. He also co-created such features a ...

, James Warren, Roy Thomas,

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...

, Stan Lee,

Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie and Daredevil with writer Stan Lee for Marvel Comics. He was alleg ...

, Carmine Infantino, and

Julius Schwartz Julius "Julie" Schwartz (; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various ...

Decline and demise

By 1968, comics fandom — including annual conventions being held in New York, Detroit, St. Louis, and the Southwest — had become well established, and the Academy's mission had been essentially fulfilled. In early 1968, due to a number of factors, Executive Secretary Kaler left, and Academy member Maggie Thompson declared the ACBFC "moribund". A 1969 mention in "Marvel

Bullpen Bulletins "Bullpen Bulletins" (originally titled "Marvel Bullpen Bulletins") was the news and information page that appeared in most regular monthly comic books from Marvel Comics. In various incarnations since its inception in 1965 until its demise in 200 ...

" may have helped revive interest temporarily — it noted that the group "holds an annual poll to determine the most popular mags, writers and artists of the preceding year" (referring to the Alley Awards) and directed fans to obtain a ballot from then ACBFC executive secretary (and future comics professional) Mark Hanerfeld (who resided in

Flushing, New York Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...

).Marvel "Bullpen Bulletins" page, "Fabulous Facts and Frivolous Fables from Frantic Fans, Faithful Friends, and Fiendish Foes!" in Marvel Comics cover-dated April 1969, including ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'' vol. 2, #114. Nonetheless, the Academy waned, "and it was disbanded for lack of interest by the decade's end". 1970 was also the final year of the Alley Awards (awarded for calendar year 1969). '' The Comic Reader'', meanwhile, became "a mainstay of fandom", continuing as a (generally) monthly magazine under a succession of editors (including Hanerfeld and

Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...

), before being taken over in 1973 by Street Enterprises, which published the magazine until the mid-1980s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy of Comic-Book Fans and Collectors Comics-related organizations